To Have and Have Not (1944) Directed by Howard Hawks from William Faulkner’s adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s novel. Walter Brennan as Eddie and Paul Marion as Beauclere. Beauclere: You’ve got a good memory for one who drinks. Eddie: Drinkin’ don’t bother my memory. If it did, I wouldn’t drink. I couldn’t. You see, I’d forget (read…)

Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) Directed by Robert Wise. Robert Ryan as Earle Slater and Ed Begley as Dave Burke. Burke: I know about you, Earle. Two stretches. One for assault with a deadly weapon, one for manslaughter. Every time you get a decent job you manage to… Slater: Knock it off! What’s so big about (read…)

Scarface (1932) Directed by Howard Hawks. Paul Muni as Tony and Karen Morley as Poppy. Tony: Hey, what’s all the time bitin’ you? You afraid of me? Poppy: Well, that outfit’s enough to give anybody the yips.

One of my favorite John Williams compositions is this week’s Watercooler Musical Interlude. Why? Because I just friggin rewatched Empire Strikes Back, DUH! The Oscars are thankfully over (Yeah Ang Lee!) so lay whatever else you have in mind in the comments section below….

“I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” My Oscar plans are taking shape as we speak. I haven’t decided if I’m going to go near Twitter or Facebook (probably), but assuming I have WiFi at my super secret Oscar party bunker, I think I’ll be commenting live here in this space bourbon in hand. That (read…)

(some of my old Muriels posters) It’s my own fault really for conveniently forgetting every year that The Weinstein… er Independent Spirit Awards vote is open to anyone who wants to pay $100 every year to join Film Independent. Of course there are lots of smart people who participate every year, I know many of (read…)

Safety Not Guaranteed (2012) Directed by Colin Trevorrow. Karan Soni as Arnau, Jake Johnson as Jeff and Aubrey Plaza as Darius. Jeff: There’s something off about this guy, okay? So, you gotta go slow, like you’re trapping a skittish animal. You know, lure him. Play coy. Girls know how to do that shit. Darius: You’re (read…)

Just for shits and giggles, let’s take a stab at the Spirit Awards. I predict a big night for Beasts of the Southern Wild, but just watch them tumble big for Silver Linings Playbook instead. God help us. Picture: Beasts of the Southern Wild Director: Benh Zeitlin Screenplay: Moonrise Kingdom First Feature: Perks of Being (read…)

The Adventures of Tintin (2011) Directed by Steven Spielberg. Tintin voiced by Jamie Bell and Captain Haddock voiced by Andy Serkis. Haddock: Mr. Jaggerman. Top bunk in the center. Keeper of the keys. Careful mate. He’s a restless sleeper on account of the tragic loss of his eyelids. Tintin: He lost his eyelids? Haddock: Aye. (read…)

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) Directed by John Sturges. Jo Van Fleet as Kate Fisher and Kirk Douglas as Doc Holliday. Doc: Now, Kate, Mr. Bailey came all the way from Fort Worth to see me on a gentlemen’s matter. Kate: Gentlemen! Hm! Doc: Wouldn’t be hospitable for me to leave town now, would (read…)

I have to admit my enthusiasm for this year’s race cooled when it became clear my pick for the best of the nominees had been swift-boated with an assist by a bunch of lefty crybabies with political axes to grind. The irony here is that Zero Dark Thirty made a stronger and more vivid case (read…)

If you’re looking to shake off the winter movie blahs with a little sci-fi horror, Dark Skies descends on Arclight Hollywood tomorrow night with a free event promising a screening of the film, giveaways, free food and more. Here’s the official synopsis of the film starring Keri Russell and Josh Hamilton: From the producer of (read…)

Frances (1982) Directed by Graeme Clifford. Jessica Lange as Frances Farmer and James Broadhead as the Desk Sergeant. Sergeant: Your name? Frances: You jerks dragged me down here in the middle of the night and you don’t know who the hell I am? Sergeant: Your name, lady. Frances: Frances. Elena. Farmer. Want me to spell (read…)

Blow Out (1981) Written and directed by Brian De Palma. John Travolta as Jack Terry and Nancy Allen as Sally. Sally: Every face needs makeup, but it shouldn’t look like makeup. Jack: Oh, I see. Sally: You see, I’ve worked on this face and I’ve hidden everything so you don’t see the makeup. Jack: You (read…)

Of all the movies I’ve rewatched lately for Movie Quote of the Day, Ratatouille easily provided the most pleasure so it’s an easy choice for this week’s Watercooler Musical Interlude. Here’s Michael Giacchino’s “La Festin” sung by Camille, a little number that’s as charming as the film. Here’s to movies. Here’s to Paris and here’s (read…)

The Game (1997) Directed by David Fincher. Peter Donat as Samuel Sutherland and Michael Douglas as Nicholas Van Orton Nicholas: Now, do you really believe that just because you publish children’s books, people are gonna care about my reputation? You can have pictures of me wearing nipple rings, butt-fucking Captain Kangaroo. The only thing they (read…)

Rin Takanashi in Abbas Kiarostami’s Like Someone in Love The title of the latest film from arthouse favorite Abbas Kiarostami comes from the Jimmy van Heusen and Johnny Burke jazz standard which the great Ella Fitzgerald is heard singing twice during the film’s run time. But if the oft-recorded number promises a dreamy-eyed, romantic idealization of (read…)

King Kong (1976) Directed by John Guillermin. Rene Auberjonois as Roy Bagley, Jessica Lange as Dwan, Jeff Bridges as Jack Prescott, Charles Grodin as Fred Wilson and Ed Lauter as Carnahan. Fred: Holy Mother! That looks as old as the pyramids of Egypt! Jack: Could be. The only difference is the pyramids weren’t repaired six (read…)

Slaughterhouse-Five (1972) Directed by George Roy Hill from the novel by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Ron Liebman as Paul Lazzaro. Lazzaro: That corporal… he’ll get back home after the war, he’ll be a big hero. Dames’ll be climbing all over him. Couple years’ll go by, and one day there’s gonna be a knock on his door (read…)

Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. David Carradine as Bill. Bill: If you don’t settle down, I’m gonna have to put one in your kneecap. Now, I hear tell that’s a very painful place to get shot in.

This week’s Watercooler Musical Interlude is the opening track to Masaru Sato’s score for Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo. I like the mixture of Japanese styles and jazz. Sato studied under Kurosawa composer Fumio Hayasaka. When Hayasaka died of tuberculosis at age 41 while scoring Kurosawa’s 1955 film Record of a Living Being, the studio tapped Sato (read…)

Twins of Evil (1971) Directed by John Hough. Madeleine Collinson as Frieda Gellhorn and David Warbeck as Anton Hoffer (not pictured). Anton: I saw you ride by. Frieda: While you were hunting? Anton: Yes. Frieda: It seems to be everyone’s occupation here, hunting of one kind or the other. Anton: What do you mean? Frieda: (read…)